


Tuukka's Gingerbread Cookie Bites

by Flyingintospace



Series: 25 Days of Christmas [21]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Christmas, gingerbread
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 22:30:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8941948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flyingintospace/pseuds/Flyingintospace
Summary: Coffee shop AU





	

The Beantown Cafe and Bakery had started just over an year ago and had so far been more of a success that any of them would have ever guessed. It had allowed them to hire more staff and stay open later, especially going into the winter months, when their business seemed to pick up even more.

It didn't hurt that that was when they brought out their holiday specials, white chocolate peppermint mocha, salted caramel latte's and most importantly Tuukka's Gingerbread Cookie Bites.

Their baker, Tuukka Rask would only start baking them in late November and anyone who had ever tried them had declared that the were the most deliciously amazing cookie ever. Tuukka however refused to tell anyone the recipe, refused to even let anyone in the kitchen when he was baking the cookies.

He also declared that they were only for paying customers and wouldn't let anyone sneak any.

Anyone.

Not that that stopped his fellow coworkers from trying.

Two of the baristas, Brand Marchand and David Pasternak were at the front of the cafe, setting up for the morning rush that would inevitably come as soon as they opened the doors.

It was the second week now that Tuukka had been baking the cookies and so far neither had gotten any as they would be sold out before they got to go for a break.

Brad looked up at the clock, and then leaned to towards Pasta saying, "You know Tuukka's going to be going on a break soon. We could sneak into the kitchen, he'll never notice that two are gone, right."

"Please tell me that I didn't just hear that," Their manager, Zdeno, said as he walked behind them with a tray of scones.

"Yeah," Patrice said. "He hit me with a wooden spoon last year."

"You mean after he threw the spoon from across the room?" Brad commented.

"See the difference would we would go in there when he's not in there."

"You two will leave those cookies alone," Zdeno ordered.

"But..." Pasta started to protest.

"You two will leave those cookies alone," Zdeno repeated.

"Yes, sir," the two answered, both looking disappointed.

Zdeno gave them both a suspicious look but then nodded. "I have to make schedules, stay out of trouble."

"Us get it trouble?" Brad said.

Zdeno shook his head and headed to his office.

Pasta looked over at Brad sadly, "So no cookies?" He hadn't actually had a chance to taste one of the cookies.

Brad sighed. "I guess not."

Patrice was stirring the soup that was for the lunch hour. "You know I could help you get in there. But only if you get me one too."

"But Zdeno said..." Pasta started.

"What he doesn't know can't hurt him." Brad shrugged. "What's the plan?"

                                                              *****************************

"I'm going for break," Tuukka said poking his head out of the kitchen.

Brad knew what was coming next and interrupted. "Hey Pasta, weren't you just about to go on break too?"

"Oh yeah," Pasta replied nervously.

Tuukka narrowed his eyes at Brad but was distracted by the cup of coffee that Patrice shoved into his hand.

"Have a good break," Patrice chirped at him.

Tuukka shook his head and headed for the door, Pasta hurrying to catch up to him.

"So we've got like five minutes tops. I don't think that Pasta's going to keep him busy for long." Patrice said.

"That's plenty of time," Brad said. They both crept over to the door to the kitchen, peering inside.

"Do you see them?" Brad asked, looking over the messy kitchen.

"No," Patrice said.

"I'm going in," Brad decided, and he slipped into the kitchen.

Patrice stepped closer to the door, watching Brad search for the cookies. When all of a sudden a hand clamped down on his shoulder. Patrice jumped, whirling around to find Zdeno standing behind him.

"What are you doing? And where is everyone else?"

"Nothing," Patrice said. "I was just looking,"

"Were you?" Zdeno asked. "And where is everyone else."

Patrice put himself between the door and Zdeno. "Tuukka and Pasta went out for a break."

"And Brad..."

"Brad... Brad is... he went to go get cups. We're out of medium ones," Patrice said.

Zdeno glanced at the fully stocked supplies.

"Oh did he? Patrice? Is Brad in the kitchen?" He took a step closer when all of a sudden Brad came around the corner holding a sleeve of cups.

"Schedules all done?" He commented as he add some cups to the holder.

Zdeno eyed the two of them. "I'm going to go open the doors."

Patrice gave Brad a look.

"I couldn't find them. He actually hid the cookies." Brad hissed. "Who hides cookies?"

As the first customers came up to the counter Pasta hurried back over, looking pale. "Never make me do that again! Did you get them?"

Brad was about to answer when Tuukka came out with a tray full of cookies. All of them watched as the tray of cookies went into the showcase. And watched as customer after customer bought them. With in an hour they were all gone.

Pasta sighed. "I'm never going to get to try those am I?"

Patrice had just yelled into the kitchen that they needed more cookies and when he turned back to Brad and Pasta, there was a gleam in his eye. "The problem with the last plan was that he hides them when he goes on break." He said. "So we need to go in there when he's still around."

"Didn't he throw a spoon at you last year?" Pasta asked.

"He has to see us to be able to throw something?" Patrice shrugged.

"What? You have an invisibility cloak hidden up your sleeve or something?" Brad gave him a skeptical look.

"No Bradley," Patrice sighed. "We'll distract him."

"I am not doing that again," Pasta protested.

"Don't worry. You can let the masters handle it this time. Now come over here and I'll show you how this is going to work." Patrice said grabbing a napkin and beginning to draw a diagram of the kitchen. "I'll be the one distracting him. I'll make up something like a customer complaining about something, you know that always gets him going. Brad you'll sneak in while I've got the door open but stay low. If you sneak down past the table by the fridge and then around the storage racking you can probably come up beside the table here where the cookies are." Patrice said drawing an X on the map. "Once you've grabbed them, run. Out the door you came out when Zdeno was looking for you."

Brad was nodding along. "That might work. Let's try this!"

They waited until Tuukka had brought out another tray to fill the counter. And then leaving Pasta to man the counter Patrice strode over to the door bumping it with his hip opening it wide enough for Brad to slip through. He yelled out, "Hey Tuukks, something's wrong with the blueberry muffins!"

"What?" Tuukka turned to glare at him.

"Something's wrong with the blueberry muffins." Patrice repeated, knowing that wasn't what Tuukka asking.

Brad snuck into the kitchen.

"I heard you, but what is wrong with them," Tuukka growled.

Brad crept along the table making sure that he stayed low enough to not be seen.

"I'm not sure. They're just not right, not sure if they're baked all the way through." Patrice answered, holding up one of the muffins in question.

"That's impossible!" Tuukka grumbled. He stalked towards Patrice still holding the whisk that he had been using.

As Brad snuck around the storage racks, Tuukka snatched the muffin from Patrice. He pulled it apart, inspecting the inside. Brad slunk forward, only feet from the cookies. "There is nothing wrong with this," Tuukka said. "This is what a muffin is supposed to look like."

Patrice leaned forward to look at the muffin that Tuukka was holding out.

Brad was only a couple steps from the cookies.

"Well look at that," Patrice said. "Must have been mistaken."

Brad was reaching for the cookies when suddenly Tuukka spun on his heel and whipped the muffin at him, hitting him square on the side of the head. It was enough of a surprise that it sent Brad stumbling and he ended up on the floor. "Out!" Tuukka roared and Patrice fled, abandoning Brad to his fate.

Pasta looked at him nervously, as he came rushing out of the kitchen.

Once he was a few feet away Patrice straightened his apron, focusing on helping the next customer as a string of loud crashes came from the kitchen.

Moments later, Brad scampered around the corner, wide eyed, with bits of muffin in his hair and splattered in an unknown substance.

"Thanks for abandoning me," he hissed at Patrice. "I'm going for break." He turned and just about ran right into Zdeno.

"Oh no, you're not. Office now. Both of you." Patrice and Brad exchanged looks and followed Zdeno to the office.

"So what where my instructions earlier?" He asked when they were all sitting in the cramped office.

"To leave the cookies alone," both echoed.

"And what have you been doing since?"

"Not leaving the cookies alone," Brad mumbled.

"Not leaving the cookies alone." Zdeno repeated.

"I don't see why we can't just have one a piece." Brad said.

"Because they're our top seller. You want to explain to the customer that can't have one why they can't?" Zdeno answered.

"I'm good with that," Patrice said.

Zdeno glared at him. "And would you please stop sneaking around the kitchen. I'm not going to be responsible for what Tuukka does to you if you don't."

"He threw a muffin at me," Brad pouted.

"You're lucky that it was just a muffin," Zdeno answered. "Now how about you go get back to work."

They both got up and headed for the door. When Zdeno said "And..."

"We'll leave the cookies alone." Both of them answered.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with the three of them scheming and plotting but not coming up with any ideas about how they would ever get cookies. Ten minutes before the end of the day the last cookie sold. "Well I guess there's always tomorrow" Brad said, as the last customer left and he locked the door. They set about cleaning up for the night.

Patrice headed to the store room to restock their supplies, Brad heading out to take away the garbage and Pasta set about cleaning the tables.

Brad came back inside and noticed one of their take out boxes sitting on the counter. "Hey Pasta? Did that last guy forget something?"

Pasta came over, "No? That wasn't here a couple minutes ago. I just cleaned this counter."

"What are you two up to?" Patrice asked.

"There's a box," Brad said. "We don't know where it came from." Pasta said.

"There's a note," Patrice said.

He took it and opened it.

Inside it read "Merry Christmas. Now leave me alone."

Brad opened the box and inside sat three gingerbread cookies. All three stared opened mouthed.

"Well are you going to eat them or not?" Tuukka asked from behind them.

Brad whirled around and hugged Tuukka, who immediately struggled in his grasp. He finally escaped Brad. "Never do that again."

Brad laughed and finally got to take a bite of the cookie.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Eggnog Introductions](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12920313) by [Flyingintospace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flyingintospace/pseuds/Flyingintospace)




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